Do Biochemical Predictors of IVF Outcome Exist?

Abstract

Over the past two decades, several molecules (predominantly steroids and proteins) have been explored as potential predictors of IVF outcome. This chapter begins by reviewing the equivocal data for and against “the usual suspects” (ovarian steroids, gonadotrophins, prolactin, etc.) before focusing on the cortisol — Cortisol binding globulin (CBG) - 11 β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11 βHSD) system. This example has been selected to illustrate how independent studies can reach different clinical conclusions, possibly due to differences in the methods used to obtain and assay samples. In the latter sections of this chapter, ongoing molecular studies, which appear to resolve the controversies surrounding assessments of cortisol metabolism as biochemical predictors of IVF outcome, are summarised. The chapter closes by providing an answer to the essential question: “Do biochemical predictors of IVF outcome exist?”

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